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Tennessee workers' comp board denies Allstate claims representative benefits
The board said Tennessee law requires an objectively sudden or unusual work event, not a routine meeting, even after the employee described a complete breakdown.
A Tennessee Workers' Compensation Appeals Board has affirmed the denial of workers' compensation benefits to an Allstate Insurance claims representative in the total loss division, ruling that her mental breakdown was not a compensable injury.
The board, in an order certified as final on August 27, 2026, said Tennessee law requires a mental injury to stem from an identifiable work-related event involving a sudden or unusual stimulus, and that gradual, built-up stress does not qualify.
In the case, the employee linked her symptoms to a virtual meeting on March 28, 2024 with her supervisor and a regional manager, which she believed would address her accommodation requests. She described severe fallout, including sleeplessness, panic attacks, and an inability to focus.
The board said it applied an objective test, noting there was no yelling or raised voices, no negative employment action, and that cumulative work stress and a hostile work environment are not compensable mental injuries under Tennessee law. It also found the treating and forensic medical opinions did not establish the meeting as an objectively extraordinary and unusual event, and it taxed the appeal costs to the employee.